More Local COVID Numbers
It has been just over a week that the Florence Area was broaching the 1000 mark of All time Covid-19 cases. Now the 97439 zip code is set to 1100 cases today. 12 more cases were added yesterday bringing the total to 1,097. Community spread continues to be a predominant reason for the spread. There is also an increase in the young with 17 and under numbers increasing. There was not a confirmed case reported by school officials, but the Siuslaw girl’s basketball program had to cancel several games after one or more of the players was exposed to COVID-19. Last week all of Lane County saw a 36% increase in cases, culmintating in almost 1,200 cases per 100,000. but this week the numbers are reportedly going down. Yesterday’s daily rate was at 985.4. The county is still providing a vaccination clinic to help combat the virus. Hours at the FEC are from 10am to 5 pm through Saturday. No appointment necessary and all dose options are available.
OHA Reports
The Oregon Health Authority reported over 8,500 cases yesterday along with 15 new deaths associated with COVID-19. To date more than 5,900 deaths have been attributed to the coronavirus. The governor continues to promote her 1,000,000 booster doses by the end of the month. As of yesterday there have been just over 403 thousand boosters administered. The state is also reporting that hospital beds are once again becoming scarce. About 6% of the total number of beds are available statewide.
ODOT Updates
The Oregon Department of Transportation is making progress on the crosswalk upgrades. Through the recent rains crews were still out on Highway 101 in Florence removing old sidewalks at intersections and replacing them with ADA standard ones. They are nearing completion of the west side of 101, but it will still be some time before they are able to move to the east side. Traffic continues to be limited on the southbound lanes through town. Florence is considered the pilot project for this program. ODOT representatives say they are using Florence to work on developing new and different engineering techniques to implement statewide. Initial estimates of completion were February of 2022, but that will likely be extended.
